1 THE words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

1The words of Nehemiah the sonne of Hachaliah. And it came to passe in the moneth Chisleu, in the twentieth yeere, as I was in Shushan the palace;

2That Hanani, one of my brethren came, he and certaine men of Iudah, and I asked them concerning the Iewes that had escaped, which were left of the captiuitie, and concerning Ierusalem.

3And they said vnto me, The remnant that are left of the captiuitie there in the prouince, are in great affliction and reproch: the wall of Ierusalem also is broken downe, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire.

4 And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,

5And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercie for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements:

6Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned.

7We haue dealt very corruptly against thee, and haue not kept the commandements, nor the statutes, nor the iudgements, which thou commandedst thy seruant Moses.

8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy seruant Moses, saying, If yee transgresse, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9But if ye turne vnto me, and keepe my commandements, and doe them: though there were of you cast out vnto the vttermost part of the heauen, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them vnto the place that I haue chosen, to set my Name there.

10Now these are thy seruants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine eare be attentiue to the prayer of thy seruant, and to the prayer of thy seruants, who desire to feare thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy seruant this day, and grant him mercie in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cup-bearer.

I == Neh 10:1

 

 

 

 

 

III == 2nd Kings 25:10 ; Neh 2:17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V == Ex 20:6 ; Dan 9:4

 

 

VI == 1st Kings 8:28-29 ; 2nd chr 6:40 ; Dan 9:17-18 , 20

 

 

 

 

 

VII == Deut 28:15 ; Ps 106:6 ; Dan 9:5

 

 

VIII == Lev 26:33 ; Deut 4:25-24 ; 28:64

 

IX == Lev 26:39-45 ; Deut 4:29-31 ; 30:2 , 4

 

 

 

 

X == Deut 9:29 ; Dan 9:15

 

XI == Neh 1:6 ; 2:1 ; Isa 26:8 ; Heb 13:18

1 The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. In the month Chislev of the twentieth year, I was in the citadel of Susa

2 when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem,

3 and they answered me: "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been gutted with fire."

4 When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

5 I prayed: "O LORD, God of heaven, great and awesome God, you who preserve your covenant of mercy toward those who love you and keep your commandments,

6 may your ear be attentive, and your eyes open, to heed the prayer which I, your servant, now offer in your presence day and night for your servants the Israelites, confessing the sins which we of Israel have committed against you, I and my father's house included.

7 Grievously have we offended you, not keeping the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which you committed to your servant Moses.

8 But remember, I pray, the promise which you gave through Moses, your servant, when you said: 'Should you prove faithless, I will scatter you among the nations;

9 but should you return to me and carefully keep my commandments, even though your outcasts have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place which I have chosen as the dwelling place for my name.'

10 They are your servants, your people, whom you freed by your great might and your strong hand.

11 O Lord, may your ear be attentive to my prayer and that of all your willing servants who revere your name. Grant success to your servant this day, and let him find favor with this man"-for I was cupbearer to the king.

Special lesson notes on Nehemiah as a man. 
1 Pondering, 1:2,4
2 Prayerful, 1:4-11; 2:4 (persevering 1:6 day and night
3 Painful, 1;4; 2:1,2 
4 Poised (Even in fear) 2:3
5 Prudent 2:5-8; (1:11)
6 Powerful 2:8c, 9,10,18 
7 Prospered 2:20; 6:12

v 1. Person, Nehemiah; Time, Chislev,  year 20 (2:1);  Place, Shushan palace.

v 2. Concern and inquiry to travelers regarding other Jews and Jerusalem.

v 3. Serious problems at Jerusalem. Affliction, reproach, devastation.

v 4. Preparation to pray. Sat down, wept, mourned, fasted and prayed.

v 5. The One addressed or beseeched. Lord God of Heaven.

v 6. Confession of sins. We, I, My father’s house.

v 7. The sins. Dealt corruptly, not kept commandments, statutes or judgments.

v 8. Reminds God of promised dispersement for sins.

 

v 9. But also reminds of promised restoration for repentance.

 

 

v 10. The ones to whom the promises were made, thy servants; thy people.

 

v 11. Position and will to be part of the answer. “I was the king’s cupbearer.”                                                                                                                                         
v 1. Son of Hachaliah distinguishes this Nehemiah from the one who returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:2, or the son of Azbuk, who helped repair the wall, Neh. 3:16. Nehemiah was concerned on this special issue and gives no details as to his early or later life. This was Nov. - Dec.  in 20th year of Artaxerxes Logimanus. Ezra came in 7th.

v 2,3. Josephus alleges that Nehemiah met Hanani by chance at the Sushan city gate, but more likely he and others were on a visit or business from Jerusalem. In answer to Nehemiah, they reported the walls to be an as pitiful a condition as when the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar 142 years before. They had surely put up some type of defense, and this was a later destruction to affect Nehemiah so.

v 4. Verses 4-11 are Nehemiah’s prayer. We see his grief as he sat down and wept some days as he fasted and prayed.

v 5. He recognized certain characteristics of God at the start of his prayer, and uses the same term the Lord described Himself in Deut. 7:21, “great and terrible”. That is, “awe inspiring”, and keeps covenant and mercy. Similarly Jesus taught his disciples, “hallowed be thy name”, Matt. 6:9.

v 6,7. He persevered -- day and night, confessed, and like Ezra 9:6, 7, placed himself as one of the sinners, we, I and my father’s house.

v 8-10. God had promised scattering for transgressing, Deut 28:63-67, but also regathering if they would turn and keep His commandments, Deut. 30:1-5. Reminds Him they are still His people.

v 11. Nehemiah discerned that it was critical that he gain favor of this man if the work could go forward. In his close relationship as the kings cupbearer, (He tasted the wine and in that country held a confidential, influential position similar to prime minister and master of ceremonies.) so he was ideally suited to take his petition to the king, and he asked God to prosper him and give him mercy before the king.